More Than 300K NYers Fled City During COVID Pandemic: Census

NEW YORK CITY — The empty streets and apartments in New York City during the coronavirus pandemic weren't an illusion, a new study found.

More than 300,000 New Yorkers packed up and moved away from the city between April 1, 2020 and July 1, 2021, the U.S. Census Bureau found.

The study released Thursday shows New York City — specifically Manhattan — had nation-leading population losses during the pandemic's early stages. In fact, the entire metropolitan area experienced a mass migration, the study found.

"The largest metropolitan net domestic migration losses were in New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA (385,455)," the study states.

Four New York City boroughs were among the top 10 counties nationwide that saw the most population losses.

Manhattan had the greatest decline by percentage nationwide, with 6.9 percent — or 110,958 leaving — or —between April 2020 and July 2021, the study found.

The population losses for the four boroughs are:

• Bronx — 47,706
• Brooklyn — 95,022
• Manhattan — 117,375
• Queens — 74,321

Staten Island's population wasn't included in the analysis, but U.S. Census data shows its population declined by 2,028 residents in 2021.

Read the full U.S. Census Bureau study here.